what is the best way to clean up drywall dust?
Drywall dust released when sanding or cutting drywall sheets contains substances such as silica, gypsum, and mica – all of which can irritate your airways and cause discomfort. From my feel, drywall dust can collect on floors, windows, doors, walls, carpets, grout lines, etc., if you exercise not sand and clean the right manner. So, how do you clean up drywall dust?
Open your windows to ventilate the firm and then sweep the drywall dust into a pile on the floor before disposing of it in dust bags. Vacuum the flooring thoroughly then mop information technology to clean upward all the drywall dust. Wipe all surfaces in the house with a damp piece of cloth and proceed the house well-ventilated.
Since drywall grit particles are very tiny, I recommend you apply a store vac with strong suction and smashing airflow – such as the Dustless D1603 Shop Vac – for the all-time results.
How to Clean Up Drywall Dust
Before you lot start the cleaning process, brand sure that you're wearing a dust mask to protect you from inhaling the harmful dust. I recommend the NASUM Reusable 8200 Face Cover for both drywall DIYers and professionals.
Here'due south how to make clean upward drywall dust:
1. Open all the windows in your firm
Open up the windows and doors in your business firm to increase ventilation and allow fresh air into the business firm. Likewise, ensure that the all the vents, heating, and air conditioning systems are switched off.
This volition keep the least amount of drywall dust circulating in the house while you clean it upwardly.
Important : Wear a dust mask or a respirator to avoid inhaling the harmful drywall dust that might get kicked upwards in the air during the cleaning process.
2. Place a fan at the window pointing outside
Since you're going to sweep some of the dust into piles and collect information technology, some dust will spread into the air. Placing a fan at the window and setting it to face up exterior is a great way to direct most of that grit exterior. (A good portable fan such as the Lasko 20″ High Velocity Quick Mount Fan is great for this kind of job.)
This pace will be more efficient if you could open up two or more windows, and if possible, you can put a fan in each. But if you don't take many fans in your house, the open windows would still work.
3. Sweep and remove the bulk of the drywall dust
Sweep near of the drywall grit into a pile using a broom and collect information technology in dust bags using a dust pan. You lot might want to spray a water mist onto the dust to make it less airborne.
Go on in heed that you'll non be able to get all the dust this fashion, but you will get most of it. Collect the drywall dust in a garbage purse or pail, then wait for the it to settle for about 15 minutes before proceeding to the next step.
4. Vacuum the floor and other surfaces
Utilise a practiced vacuum for drywall dust with a brush zipper and vacuum from tiptop to lesser, left to correct, and move gradually because drywall dust usually clings to walls.
If you sprinkled h2o onto the dust, you might want to use a strong dry/moisture shop vac to make clean up the drywall grit without clogging the HEPA filters.
v. Clean the floor with mop and h2o
After running your store vac on the flooring, the concluding step is cleaning with a damp textile or a moisture mop – simply co-ordinate to the type of flooring or surface you have. For example, apply a microfiber material if you're cleaning a hardwood flooring. For a concrete flooring in your garage, utilise the normal wet mop to clean drywall grit residue.
The damp fabric will hands selection up the dust residue, and y'all volition too not take to stress about it turning into mud. Use the damp material to wipe the drywall dust from rough surfaces such equally masonry and tile grout.
vi. Ventilate the room
The last stride is to ventilate the room adequately before using it. As well, cheque to make sure no new dust particles accept settled onto other surfaces in the business firm earlier using it.
Note : If you don't clothing a mask or a respirator and are exposed to drywall dust frequently and for an extended catamenia of time, you might develop long-term respiratory issues.
Is information technology OK to vacuum drywall grit?
Yous can vacuum drywall dust but non using a regular household vacuum cleaner. It is recommended to use a good shop vac to clean upward fine drywall grit, or make sure you fit your regular vacuum with a heavy duty HEPA filter to clean upwards drywall dust effectively.
The problem with a regular vacuum cleaner is that when y'all use it to get rid of the fine dust, the bags and filters go clogged quickly, making the vacuum spew grit back into the air.
Grit that fills upwardly the air in your firm can atomic number 82 to respiratory problems, especially if you lot are non wearing a dust mask.
Your machine will as well overheat when collecting fine drywall grit and can hands become damaged.
Drywall Dust on Concrete Floors
If you're working with sheetrock with its dust falling on the physical floor, it is best to proceed the flooring a fiddling moisture to trap the dust hands. Concrete floors don't scratch easily, and then you'll exist able to make clean up drywall grit past scraping up the mud from the floor with a trowel.
Autonomously from the trowel, you'll need some water in a spray bottle, a sponge and a slice of cloth or microfiber pad.
Here'southward the best way to clean up drywall dust from physical:
Scrape upward excess drywall mud from the physical floor using a trowel, so spray some h2o on the dirty spots. Scrub the floor with a sponge, adding more water to any stubborn drywall dust spots and repeating the process. Moisture-mop the flooring using a rug and keep your house well ventilated.
Alternatively, if the sheetrock dust isn't much, vacuum it off the floor using a dry-wet shop vac with a brush zipper. Mop the flooring with a moisture microfiber pad to lift off any particles of drywall chemical compound that remain on the physical.
Drywall Dust in Carpet
Carpets can absorb grit that can get very difficult to clean upwardly. If for some reason sheetrock dust got its manner into your carpet, you might want to rent a carpeting cleaning machine to exist able to become rid of information technology effectively.
Hither'south how to clean upwardly drywall dust from carpet:
- Dampen the rug with clear water.
- Run a carpet cleaning automobile in small sections.
- Repeat the process to remove all the drywall dust particles from carpet fibers.
- Let the carpet flooring to dry completely before using the room.
If yous're working on a home improvement projection, you might want to remove the carpet offset to preclude it from arresting too much drywall dust. Alternatively, cover it with heavy duty plastic sheeting held down on the edges using duct tape. Once you lot're done, simply fold away the plastic sheeting with the drywall dust and dispose of information technology safely.
Drywall on Doors, Windows and Ceilings
Drywall dust goes airborne very easily and can settle on doors, windows, ceilings, and inside grout lines on your floor tiles. Cleaning the compound and dust off these surfaces depends on the material.
- Doors: For doors, wipe the dust off the surface with a damp cloth so allow them to dry. Wipe with a clean piece of microfiber cloth to remove whatsoever streaks or lines left on your doors.
- Windows: Most windows have glass panes, so gently wipe them with soapy water and a soft microfiber cloth. Rinse with clean water then finally wipe them with WD40 to remove whatever streak marks.
- Ceilings: If your ceiling is made of sheetrock, practise not sprinkle water on it. Only dry out-wipe it or use a castor zipper with a long hose on your vacuum to clean up the drywall grit from the ceiling.
Use a Dust-free Drywall Sander to Prevent Dust
If you often deal with drywall dust, or work in such an environment, you might want to invest in the correct equipment that volition help reduce the amount of drywall dust released into the air. Dust-free sanders are a peachy instance of tools y'all can start using to preclude exposure to such construction dust.
Here are some of the best dustless tools for drywall applications:
- Dust bubble drill- this drill enables you to drill without dust.
- Abranet ace Hard disk film
- HYDE grit-free sponge sander- this one works best on apartment surfaces including as wood.
- Abranet Max Sponge – this is a cyberspace that is suited for the wood industry as it is substantially dust-gratis.
Apart from grit-free sanders, another option I found to work great is wet-sanding drywall sheets. It goes a long fashion in preventing dust from contaminating air in the house. All you demand is to add together a wet-sanding zipper to your drywall sander and you'll be able to become rid of the drywall dust hands.
Using the right tools goes a long style in reducing the corporeality of work particularly during the clean-up stage.
Is Drywall Dust Dangerous and Combustible
When in pocket-size amounts, drywall grit is non exactly toxic to the body. This means that it will not cause long-term diseases. Nevertheless, you should know that information technology can irritate some parts of the body, such as the throat. This is considering drywall dust has a chemical compound known as gypsum.
Gypsum is non-combustible- this means that more often than not, drywall grit cannot catch burn down easily.
Gypsum has the aforementioned furnishings as chlorine in swimming pools, as they have approximately similar pH of 7.7. This is why when drywall dust comes into contact with your eyes, yous may feel irritation for a short while.
If you don't wear a mask or a respirator and are exposed to drywall dust frequently and for an extended catamenia of time, you might develop long term health problems.
Consult with your medico if y'all think you're exposed to drywall dust for prolonged periods.
READ MORE: How to Clean Upwardly Fiberglass Dust Safely
Source: https://airlucent.com/clean-drywall-dust/